One day, the children were playing in the courtyard. At the edge of the courtyard stood a big tree. Suddenly, something fell from the branches with a thud onto the ground. The children ran over to see what had fallen. There, they saw a tiny, yellow fledgling. Its wings had not yet grown, its eyes had not yet opened. Its little body, red and bare, was trembling, and its belly was moving up and down with each breath. It kept making a faint, pitiful chirping sound. Shyam gently picked it up in his palm and brought it inside the house. He placed it on some cotton. He did not know what else to do for it. With his childish wisdom, he tried to give it some water and put a drop into its beak. He brought a few fine grains of rice and tried to put them into its mouth. But even as he did all this, the thought that it might die did not occur to him. The fledgling lay its head to one side. Shyam called out anxiously. His mother, hearing him, came over. He showed her the fledgling and told her what had happened. She took the little bird in her hand and said to Shyam, “Shyam, this little one will not survive. It is far too young. Falling from the tree has caused it great pain. It cannot be saved. Do not trouble it any further. Let it die in peace.” Saying this, she returned to her work.

After a short while, the fledgling breathed its last. Shyam felt very sad. He had...

They decided to bury it in the ground. Shyam asked his mother where exactly it should be buried.

She told him, “Shyam, bury it near the jasmine tree. That way, it will be surrounded by beautiful flowers. Didn’t you offer it your love? It will not forget that love. It will return to you in the form of blossoms and fragrance.”

Hearing this, he let out a deep, heartfelt sob. He wrapped the little one in a cloth. Finally, after placing a bit of cotton between the jasmine and the chick, he gently laid it in the earth. He scattered flowers over it. But when it came time to cover it with soil, Shyam could not bring himself to do it. Tears welled up in his eyes. Still, closing his eyes, he managed to cover it with earth. Fearing that a cat might dig it up and eat it, he placed a flat stone over the spot. Then he went inside the house, sat in a corner, and began to cry.

Mother understood. She realized that Shyam was thinking about observing mourning for the chick. She smiled and explained that there was no need for such mourning. Shyam asked her, “But when someone in the family dies, don’t we observe mourning?”

She explained to him, “You are right. But when a person dies, the family observes mourning so that others may keep their